Camden STEAM

STEAM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. The A stands for Creativity. It captures the belief that addressing STEM and Creativity together delivers greater value to individuals, employers, the local community and economy.

In March 2026, we launched the refresh of the Camden STEAM Strategy, outlining our priorities and plans to grow and strengthen STEAM opportunities for young people in Camden.
The refresh builds on our existing work and sets a clear direction for the next phase of delivery.

Camden STEAM Strategy 2022 to 2025

Watch: Camden STEAM strategy launch at Google, King's Cross - short film (4 mins, 14 secs)

Camden STEAM Vision

We will work together building a future where Camden is a beacon of inclusive opportunity and innovation. Young people, regardless of background, will be inspired by STEAM opportunities and they will be ready for the world of work in Camden’s STEAM industries. STEAM employers will have access to a local diverse talent pipeline to meet their recruitment needs and help them to innovate and flourish. 

We equip Camden’s young people with the skills and opportunities to embark on a STEAM career by bringing together employers, educators and young people.   

Camden STEAM brings opportunities in the digital, scientific and creative industries to life for Camden’s young people. Camden is home to innovative businesses and institutions from Google, Lendlease and the Francis Crick Institute, to world-leading universities such as UCL and Central Saint Martins, and a huge range of thriving small and medium businesses and start-ups. Our job is to help young people see there could be a career for them just around the corner. 

We connect employers with schools so young people have a sense of the job opportunities that exist on their doorstep, as well as working together to create new opportunities.  

There are now 76 STEAM employers working with us and over 200 STEAM Ambassadors (employee volunteers) supporting Camden’s students. We work together to achieve our strategic objectives: 

1. Build young people’s awareness of STEAM industries, and support them to develop the skills, knowledge and attributes STEAM employers need 
2. Provide pathways and opportunities for young people to enter and succeed in STEAM careers  
3.  Engage young people from underrepresented backgrounds in STEAM and support a diverse talent pipeline 
4. Create an innovative and inclusive STEAM community for Camden that influences policy and supports growth  

Check out the School and Employer pages to get involved. 

Join our growing network by signing the Camden STEAM Pledge and supporting young people into STEAM careers.

London AI Campus

The London AI Campus is a partnership between Google, Camden Learning and Camden Council, enabled by Camden’s pioneering STEAM programme. Camden STEAM develops strong partnerships between employers and schools in Camden to create career opportunities for young people and has been greatly enhanced by Google’s support on multiple impactful opportunities, including STEAM’s flagship work experience programme and workplace visits, with the London AI Campus marking an exciting phase in the partnership. 

The London AI Campus aims to inspire, inform and educate students and teachers in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital skills.  

The AI campus provides an exceptional learning experience for Camden students who are interested in pursuing a career or degree in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and related fields.  A range of innovative and engaging enrichment-focused activities will maximise the expertise of specialist teacher, tech employees, sector leaders and academic organisations drawn from across Camden and the UK.  

Richard Olszewski, Leader of Camden Council:         

This partnership between Camden Council, Camden Learning and Google marks a significant milestone in our commitment to providing young people with world-class opportunities.

By fostering collaboration between industry leaders, educators, and students, this trail-blazing initiative will undoubtedly empower countless young people from all backgrounds in the borough to thrive in the science, technology, engineering, arts and maths industries that are developing around them.

We're creating a pipeline of diverse talent that will drive innovation, the future of technology and economic growth in Camden and beyond.”

We are keen to hear from partners interested in getting involved with Camden’s STEAM programme or the AI Campus. Please contact [email protected] or [email protected] to find out more.

We launched our AI Campus Insights Report 2025 to celebrate the impact, achievements and learning from the first year of the London AI Campus.

We aim to reach every young person in a Camden state school, from Early Years to Year 13, every year with an impactful STEAM opportunity. We are here to support Camden schools by: 

• Brokering STEAM Ambassador activities (employee volunteers) 
• Co-ordinating the annual Camden STEAM Work Experience Programme each July for Year 12 students  
• Creating STEAM apprenticeship opportunities 
• Sharing impactful opportunities from our Camden STEAM Pledge partners – recent examples include a DeepMind Hackathon, Central Saint Martins Digital Innovation workshops, Ted Baker Business Challenge, Google Certificates and Meta Girls Rising Mentoring Programme. 

STEAM Ambassadors 

We have a network of over 200 STEAM Ambassadors drawn from over 75 Camden employers including Google, Lendlease, Arup, Meta, the Francis Crick Institute, Bennetts Associates (architects), LocalGlobe, Conran Design, Moonbug and many others.  Ambassadors have a wide range of experience between them and are keen to support Camden schools and young people, from giving a careers talk to working with you to design a lesson using their industry expertise. 

• Could you invite a STEAM Ambassador to share their industry expertise and career insights in a lesson?  
• Would you like to work alongside a STEAM Ambassador to co-design an activity, lesson or sequence of lessons for young people that enables them to learn about a particular industry and to practice skills relevant to that job?   

View a step-by-step guide for teachers setting up an employer partnership.

“A young person who has four or more meaningful encounters with an employer is 86% less likely to be unemployed or not in education or training, and can earn up to 22% more during their career.” Education and Employers Taskforce research 

How do I book a STEAM Ambassador?  

Please read and complete this form to request a partnership with a Camden STEAM Ambassador. Look at the STEAM Ambassador profiles page for examples of volunteers, their job description and how they might support schools and young people. 

“Our Year 1 classes held their STEAM exhibition last week for the Eco Cities they created in their project last half term. They were absolutely wonderful and the children really loved the project” – Teacher, Primrose Hill Primary School  

‘It’s opening their minds as to how the world of work works and how the subjects that they study in school are going to be applied… being creative, being visually literate is really crucial.” - Teacher, La Sainte Union Secondary School  

“What I could see was that this this real, deeper, interconnected knowledge between these different subjects as real creative application of knowledge.” - Schools Manager, Camden STEAM Hub 

“I would love for young people to learn that there are aspects of STEAM intertwined in everything we do as engineers in industry” –  STEAM Ambassador – structural engineer  

Work experience

STEAM Work Experience 2026 will take place between 6 to 10 July 2026 and our aim is to reach over 450 students with high-quality work experience placements.

Camden STEAM teams up with world-leading companies and institutions to deliver work experience placements for over 400 Year 12 Students. The following companies work with us to deliver work experience across the borough: AstraZeneca, AutogenAI, Arup, Bennetts Associates, Bam Nuttall, British Land, British Library, Cadent, Camden Council Inclusive Economy Service, Camden Council Digital and Data Services, Camden Spark (Universal Music, Phoenix Theatre, Roundhouse, October Gallery, Celebro Media, London Film School), Digital Catapult, Google, Hoare Lea, LabTech, Phoenix Court, Models 1, Moonbug Entertainment, Piercy & Co, PineBridge, SCS Railways, St George PLC, UCL Special Collections, UCL Biosciences, Arup Integrated City Planning (ICP), the Francis Crick Institute.

Impact:

• Inclusive experience: 96% of students felt welcome at their placements.
• Skills development: 99% of students felt they had developed team working skills; 95% felt they had developed listening and staying positive skills
• Sector knowledge: 72% said they now had a good or excellent knowledge of different departments and sectors. 69% said they were interested in a job within the organisation or sector
• Met Expectations: 93% of participants said the experience met expectations. 
• Confidence in career ambitions: 87% of young people felt confident that they could achieve their future career ambitions as a result of taking part

Article: Celebrating Success of the Camden STEAM Work Experience 2024

Video: STEAM Work Experience 2024

Student feedback

STEAM Work Experience is designed to help young people understand the working world, explore STEAM careers, and develop essential skills, especially those with the least access to these opportunities. 

“Honestly, I didn't think I belonged in a place like this, and then you meet so many people who are just so different and they just work so well together." Year 12 student on the Google STEAM placement.

Work experience placements build young people’s awareness of STEAM industries and the skills, knowledge and attributes employers are looking for and the different entry pathways.  

"I really liked the Discovery Centre and soft skills workshop as it made me aware of different pathways in the pharmaceutical industry that are available such as apprenticeships that Astra Zeneca offer and placements for university students. I enjoyed working on the business challenge about how to market a diabetes drug to healthcare professionals, including thinking about the language to use" Year 12 student on the Astra Zeneca placement.

“I gained a much better understanding of work in the future, like what I would put on a personal statement and how to manage in an interview as well as working in groups to complete a project.” Year 12 student on the Camden Council Inclusive Economies placement.

T Levels

T Levels are the new vocational qualification for 16 to 19-year-olds that combine classroom learning with real-world industry experience. Developed in collaboration with employers, these two-year courses offer students a unique pathway to kickstart their careers while achieving academic excellence. The Industry Placement is a crucial part of the qualification and one that T Level students are the most excited about when completing the course. 

September 2024 marked the launch of T Levels in Camden schools, with three subjects delivered across three schools. This expanded to five subjects in September 2025, and by September 2026, six T Level subjects will be offered across five Camden secondary schools. We are working closely with schools to ensure every student benefits from a meaningful industry placement with one of Camden’s diverse and exciting employers.

We offer support to schools through brokering relationships from across our network of employers and setting up a partnership with schools, ensuring that both school and employer feel supported and well set up to deliver an excellent T Level offer for students. 

We coordinate and facilitate the Camden School T Level Network, bringing together schools from across the borough to collaborate on T Level delivery. The network provides a space for sharing best practice, addressing common challenges and supporting continuous improvement, ensuring that all Camden schools can deliver high-quality T Level programmes and industry placements.

If you are a school in Camden and would like to find out more about T Levels, the offer in Camden or how we can support you with your T Level planning, please contact [email protected]. 

Join the Camden STEAM movement

Sign the Camden STEAM Pledge and work with us to support all young people in Camden schools with inspiring career insights and opportunities  

“The benefits of this STEAM partnership have been felt by our team at Google: not just in the feedback from our mentors, but in the tangible ways that these young people have helped shape our plans for the local area” – Zoe Stern, Head of Community Affairs Europe, Google 

“A young person who has four or more meaningful encounters with an employer is 86% less likely to be unemployed or not in education or training, and can earn up to 22% more during their career” – Education and Employers Taskforce research 

Camden STEAM Partners drive forward these principles in your work so together we achieve our Camden STEAM vision:  

•  Build young people’s awareness of STEAM industries, and support them to develop the skills, knowledge and attributes STEAM employers need 

•  Provide pathways and opportunities for young people to enter and succeed in STEAM careers  

•  Engage young people from underrepresented backgrounds in STEAM and support a diverse talent pipeline 

•  Create an innovative and inclusive STEAM community for Camden that influences policy and supports growth  
 

Camden STEAM Pledge

View the Camden STEAM Pledge and get in touch at [email protected]

We ask every STEAM Pledge Employer to commit to the STEAM Ambassadors and Work Experience programmes.

STEAM Ambassadors

Deliver career activities in schools to help us reach every young person, every year. STEAM Ambassadors are at the heart of the STEAM Pledge. STEAM Ambassadors are our network of employee volunteers in Camden primary and secondary schools. Camden STEAM trains and supports STEAM Ambassadors, and brokers activities that have a real impact for young people.

Work Experience

Welcome young people on work experience to enable every 16-18-year-old young person in Camden to access a placement, which has a significant impact for them. Host a group of young people during Camden’s STEAM Work Experience week each July, or commit a places on your existing programme to Camden state school students. Camden STEAM will guide you through the process of planning a high-quality placement and support you to recruit students from local schools. 

Placements are prioritised to those who are underrepresented in the STEAM field, including girls and those from a Black, Asian and Other Ethnic background as well as students who have not had work experience before. The benefits of the Work Experience Programme to Google are immense, not just in the feedback from our mentors who get a lot out of the experience working with young people, but in the tangible ways that these students are helping to shape our plans for the local area. The programme’s real-life projects were designed by our Marketing and Real Estate teams to learn from our neighbours and use their unique insights to inform our approach to the ground floor of our new building in King's Cross. Amy Brown, Head of Creative Strategy, EMEA Events & Experiences, Ads and Marketing at Google   

Find out more about how your organisation can get involved in Camden STEAM Work Experience Week.

If you are an employer in Camden or the surrounding boroughs and would like to get involved with Camden STEAM Work Experience, contact [email protected].

T levels 

T Levels are a new vocational qualification for 16–19-year-olds, designed in collaboration with employers to meet the needs of the modern workforce. They sit alongside A Levels and apprenticeships, offering a high-quality post-16 pathway that combines classroom learning with a 45-day (315-hour) industry placement.

T Levels launched in Camden schools in September 2024 with three courses, with further subjects being introduced in 2025 and 2026. This is an ideal time for employers to get involved—supporting young people to develop the skills needed for your sector, while identifying and nurturing future talent for your organisation.

T Levels being delivered in Camden

• Media, Broadcast and Production (Content Creation) 
• Management and Administration 
• Marketing
• Digital Software Development 
• Laboratory Sciences
• Health (from Sept 2026)

Industry Placements give employers the opportunity to shape the next generation of talent, while benefiting from fresh ideas, extra project support, and the chance to develop staff through mentoring. They also provide a way to identify and recruit local young talent early, contribute to workforce diversity and social mobility, and strengthen your organisation’s connection to the Camden community.

There are additional ways to get involved, such as hosting a masterclass, judging a competition, or setting an industry-standard brief or project.

T Level Employer Flyer
T Level Employer Guide Brochure

If you are an employer in Camden or the surrounding boroughs and would like to get involved with Camden T Levels, please contact [email protected].
 

There are now over 70 STEAM employers working with us and over 200 STEAM Ambassadors (employee volunteers) supporting Camden’s students. Below are those employers who have pledged support to Camden STEAM. 
 

STEAM Pledge Employers

• Archio
• Argent
• Arup
• AstraZenecaUK
• AutogenAI
• Bam Nuttall
• BBUK Studios
• Bennetts Associates
• British Library
• British Land
• Cadent
• Camden Town Unlimited
• Childrens’ Radio/Fun Kids Live
• Cockpit Arts
• Conran Design Group
• Central Saint Martin
• Digital Catapult
• Donmar Warehouse
• Eden Smith
• Eurostar International
• Exterion Media
• Farrans
• FM Conway
• Forever Audio
• Francis Crick Institute
• Gerald Eve
• Glenman Corporation
• Google
• GSK
• Hatton Garden BID
• High Speed 1
• High Speed 2
• Hoare Lea
• Institute of Practitioners in Advertising
• Jas Bhalla Works
• Labtech
• Lambert Smith Hampton
• Lendlease
• LifeFabs
• LocalGlobe/Phoenix Court
• London Film School
• London School of Economics - Entrepreneurship
• Mace Dragados JV
• Matrix SCM
• Meta
• McAleer & Rushe
• McClaren Group
• Models 1
• Momentum Transport
• Moonbug Entertainment
• Morgan Sindall
• Mullaley
• Piercy & Company
• PineBridge Investments
• The Roundhouse
• RS Components
• SCS Railways
• Softwire
• Stantec
• Skanska
• Springer Nature
• St George PLC
• The Place
• Troup, Bywaters & Anders
• UCLH
• UCL
• UCL Cancer Institute
• UPP
• Wates
• Wayve
• Wellcome Trust
• Zappi
• ZSL